Štúrovo (before 1948: ''Parkan''; hu, Párkány, german: Gockern, tr, Ciğerdelen) is a town in
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, situated on the
River Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. Its population in 2018 was 10,279.
The town is situated opposite the Hungarian city of
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
. The
Mária Valéria bridge connects the settlements. The bridge was destroyed in 1944 during World War II, but reconstructed in 2001.
Names and etymology
The initial name of the settlement was ''
Kokot'' – the common Slavic word for a
rooster
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...
(the word still exists in Slovak as a vulgarism). ''Kokot'' (1075), ''Cokot'' (1157), ''Kakath'' (1277). Later Slovak and Hungarian name was adopted from
Turkish ''Cigerdelen Parkani'' (1543) – "the fortress stabbing to the liver of the enemy". It was given its current name after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and is named after the 19th century Slovak national leader,
Ľudovít Štúr
Ľudovít Velislav Štúr (; hu, Stur Lajos; 28 October 1815 – 12 January 1856), known in his era as Ludevít Štúr, (pen names : B. Dunajský, Bedlivý Ludorob, Boleslav Záhorský, Brat Slovenska, Ein Slave, Ein ungarischer Slave, Karl Wi ...
. There was an attempt to return to the old name in a local 1991 referendum; however the government refused to rename the town.
[http://www.sturovo.sk/main.php?id_menu=17329&id_menu_obsah_m34873=10106&firmy_slovenska_flag=0&caption1=0 Štúrovo - History (contains a link to .doc file, in Slovak)] The Hungarian name Párkány is officially used as a name in the minority language.
History
The town was inhabited in the prehistoric ages, thanks to its favourable location. It was an important river crossing, and part of the
Limes Romanus system named as Avanum during
Roman rule. In the 16th century, after the Turks conquered
Buda in 1541, the town, along with Esztergom, came under the
Ottoman rule
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
. Many attempts to retake the town from the Turks followed, but they were unsuccessful except 1595–1605 period, until 1683, when the Turks lost a
battle near Párkány which became referred to as Ciğerdelen ("Liver driller" in Turkish) during the Ottoman rule.
During the reign of
Maria Theresa, the town regained its rights and became a district town.
In 1850, Párkány became a station on the railway between Pressburg ( hu, Pozsony, now
Bratislava) and
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. In 1895, the Mária Valéria bridge to Esztergom was opened.
After
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, the town became a border town of Czechoslovakia. In 1938, as a result of the
First Vienna Award
The First Vienna Award was a treaty signed on 2 November 1938 pursuant to the Vienna Arbitration, which took place at Vienna's Belvedere Palace. The arbitration and award were direct consequences of the previous month's Munich Agreement, which ...
, Párkány and parts of Southern Slovakia were occupied by Hungary. It was liberated in the years 1944/1945 by Soviet troops. The Mária Valéria bridge was destroyed for a second time (first time in 1920) by retreating German forces.
After
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, with the annulment of the Vienna Awards, the town became a part of Czechoslovakia again. It was renamed to ''Štúrovo'' in 1948. The formerly independent villages of
Nána and
Obid were merged with the town in 1960 and 1972 respectively. Štúrovo ceased to be the seat of a separate district in 1960 and was merged into the new larger
Nové Zámky District
Nové Zámky District (''okres Nové Zámky'') is a district in
the Nitra Region of western Slovakia.
Until 1918, the area of the district was split between several county of Kingdom of Hungary: the largest area in the north formed part of Nitr ...
.
The postwar industrialisation period saw a major pulp and paper processing plant opened - the ''Juhoslovenské celulózky a papierne'' (South Slovakian Pulpwood and Paper Works) in 1968, employing some 4,000 people. A new thermal swimming resort ''Vadaš'' was built in 1978. The local railway station became the second largest in Slovakia (1975).
After the
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...
, Nána (1990) and Obid (1998) became separate villages again. The Mária Valéria bridge to Hungary was rebuilt for the third time and opened in 2001, boosting the local economy.
Border crossing
Until 21 December 2007 when both Slovakia and Hungary became part of the
Schengen Area, Štúrovo was a major border crossing between Slovakia and Hungary, with
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
located on the Hungarian side of the River Danube. The two cities are linked by the
Mária Valéria bridge. The road bridge is some in length and is named after
Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria
Archduchess Marie Valerie Mathilde Amalie of Austria (22 April 1868 – 6 September 1924) was the youngest child of Emperor Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was usually called Valerie.
On 31 July 1890, she married Archduk ...
, (1868–1924), the fourth child of
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
Franz Josef, and
Elisabeth.
The bridge was originally opened on 28 September 1895 but was destroyed twice. On 22 July 1919 the bridge was destroyed by a detonation at its first pier on its western side but the bridge was renovated in 1922 and completely reconstructed in 1926. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, retreating German troops blew up the bridge on 26 December 1944 along with other bridges near Esztergom.
Decades of intransigence between the Communist governments of Hungary and
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
meant that the bridge was not rebuilt until the new millennium, finally reopening on 11 October 2001. Half the costs of the project were covered by a 10 million
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
grant from the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, as part of the EU
PHARE project to assist applicant countries in their preparations to join the EU.
Štúrovo was also a major railway border crossing between Slovakia and Hungary as it is on the main Bratislava-Budapest railway line. The main station across the border in Hungary is
Szob which is located to the east on the same side of the River Danube.
Demographics
According to the 2001 census, 11,708 people were living in the town with 68.7% identifying themselves as ethnic
Hungarian, 28.1% as
Slovak and 3.2% as other nationalities.
The religious make-up was: Roman Catholic 77.18%, without denomination or not specified 16.45%, Evangelical 1.36%.
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Twin towns — sister cities
Štúrovo is
twinned with:
*
Esztergom
Esztergom ( ; german: Gran; la, Solva or ; sk, Ostrihom, known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in northern Hungary, northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom County, on the right bank of the river Dan ...
, Hungary
*
Bruntál, Czech Republic
*
Castellarano, Italy
*
Baraolt
Baraolt (; hu, Barót, ) is a town and administrative district in Covasna County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania. The town was mentioned for the first time as a settlement in 1224. It adm ...
, Romania
*
Novi Bečej
Novi Bečej (, hu, Törökbecse) is a town and municipality located in the Central Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a population of 13,133, while Novi Bečej municipality has 23,925 inhabitants.
Nam ...
, Serbia
*
Kłobuck, Poland
*
Kőbánya (Budapest), Hungary
References
External links
Official website
Thermal swimming resort VadašVirtual Tour of Štúrovo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sturovo
Cities and towns in Slovakia
Populated places on the Danube
Socialist planned cities
Hungary–Slovakia border crossings
Hungarian communities in Slovakia